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It's Easter week. For some reason I was reminded of this hilarious clip from Family Guy on the Abraham/Isaac story which is highlighted below: There is no question about it, the Bible leaves us with some real head scratchers. (SIDE NOTE: I love in movies when they say the name of the movie in the actual movie.) But I've included the phrase "head scratchers" in this post because this story with Abraham being called by God to sacrifice his son Isaac definitely causes us to pause and ask, "What is that all about?" Here's the short recap of the story from the book of Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 is often referred to as the "Hall of Fame of Faith." Regarding Abraham's faith, the writer says: [17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son (Hebrews 11:17).  Okay, so we see here that God is testing Abraham, and Abraham responds...

It always strikes me that the biggest episodes of TV sitcoms and dramas always revolve around one of three storylines: weddings, births, or deaths. Each of these episodes themes signifies some sort of a new beginning. The wedding episode often seems to be the climactic end to a life of searching, and the happy couple rides off into the sunset having achieved the pinnacle of life: marriage. An example I think of is when Phoebe and Mike get married on "Friends." They've arrived. An episode with a new baby also signifies the arrival at a climactic point, babies are new and bring about a radical change of one's life. One episode that stands out to me is the episode of "The Simpsons" where Homer's life is dramatically and beautifully changed by the arrival of baby Maggie. TV episodes based on the death of a big character are also climactic, but for different reasons. These often figure the end of one's life, and the new beginnings of the suppor...